Dog Ear Infection Home Remedy

If you ‘d like to make your own dog ear cleaner, here are a few recipes. But a couple of cautions before you start:

It is always best to consult a veterinarian before attempting attempting your own treatment

Don’t insert anything deep into your pet’s ear, including the syringe, as this can cause injury

If your pet has a lot of discharge, blood in the ear, or his ears are inflamed, do not use home treatment – seek professional medical help instead. He may have an infection.

No matter if you make your own ear cleaner, or use a commercially-prepared one, an essential part of your dog’s treatment should be Zymoz Otic.

This is a fantastic enzymatic solution that treats acute and chronic otitis externa (inflammation of the external ear) due to both bacterial and yeast infections.

Dog ear cleaners have two purposes:

clean the ear

protect against ear infections

Different ingredients can be used to achieve these purposes. We recommend using the most gentle ingredients possible.

With any of these solutions, make sure the mixture is at room temperature or just a bit warmer. This will feel much better to your dog, and make it easier on you if he is more comfortable.

An easy and safe way to warm the solution is to immerse the syringe, or the cup or glass if using an oil, in a sink or bowl full of hot water for a few minutes. This will warm the mixture slightly without making it too warm.

Home Remedy Recipes

Recipe #1

One of the best solutions to make for your dog’s ears to prevent infection:

witch hazel and organic apple cider vinegar, in a 1 to 1 ratio (50/50 mixture)
place in a bottle and shake well.
Fill an ear syringe and clean your dog’s ears

Witch hazel is more gentle than rubbing alcohol, and the apple cider vinegar helps to restore the natural balance in the ear.

Recipe # 2
Another gentle solution is white vinegar and warm water, in a 1 to 1 ratio. You may make it with 1/3 vinegar and 2/3 water, but make sure there is enough vinegar so there isn’t water left standing in the ear. The vinegar helps to dry out the ear.

Recipe # 3
Another home remedy is Aloe Vera Gel. Warm some Aloe Vera in a cup as mentioned above and then place 1 teaspoon of Aloe Vera gel into each ear. This works well for irritated, red ears.

Recipe # 4
Almond Oil. Almond oil is gentle on the skin and helps loosen dirt and wax. Warm the oil and place about 1/2 teaspoon of warm oil into each ear.

You may also use olive oil, just use it the same way.

Some recipes you see on the internet include rubbing alcohol. Be very careful when using alcohol in your dog’s ears. Only use alcohol if your dog doesn’t have any scratches or sores (because it can cause burning), and if he doesn’t mind a cold solution. I haven’t tried cleaners with rubbing alcohol in them, because I think they are too harsh.
You may see also find remedies that contain Hydrogen peroxide, but Hydrogen Peroxide can harm healthy tissue so it is not recommended.

Quick and Easy
If you don’t want the mess and hassle of making your own solutions, you can buy a premixed solution instead like I do:

Sometimes the problem is so severe that a vets visit is really necessary to treat with their recommendations. We all know that this is a expensive alternative and if you can get it under control with natural remedies then that is a much better option. Some great recipes are mentioned above.

My Golden currently has a yeast infection in his ears and is on medication for it. Since it is a common problem in Golden’s, I’m looking into easy homemade recipes, and these are great! If I didn’t have the organic apple cider, could I substitute it with white vinegar?